Dragons head coach and former Wales scrum-half Darren Edwards fears an exodus of the country’s top talent to their richer rivals in mainland Europe.
The 37-year-old will have to make do without captain Luke Charteris, who is on the verge of agreeing terms with French champions Perpignan for next season, while winger Aled Brew is rumoured to be considered a similar route away from Rodney Parade and Wales No.8 Toby Faletau is also attracting admiring glances.
If Charteris was to move to the Stade Aime Giral, he would team up with compatriot James Hook who switched to the south of France in January, while Mike Phillips swapped Ospreys for Bayonne in the summer and full-back Lee Byrne joined Clermont Auvergne.
Edwards, whose side’s Amlin Challenge Cup hopes now hang by a thread after the 23-19 loss to Exeter Chiefs on Sunday, admits he is upset by the departure of Charteris and something has to be done.
He said: “I’m disappointed, but Luke is a very honourable guy.
“I think everyone is trying to steal our Welsh players at the moment. It’s a huge worry and we are all feeling the heat in Wales.
“We are working hard to produce players for the national team and we cannot capitalise on these. We need to get our heads together and solve it.
“These players employ agents and it is their job to move them to another club.”
